Seeking upgrade advice for 3d system

Veteran

Hi there, im looking into upgrading my pc as today I discoverd it just isnt up to the task anymore. I had a mate of mine rendering a 3d model im working on and his core2 only took 6.5 minutes for the render my pc takes 45minutes. Hell, even at 1600x1200 his pc was still twice as fast as mine on 800x600.

So I want to upgrade. Only problem is that im not only poor, being dutch im also greedy so I want to spend as little money as possible

For the GPU I got a x1600pro Digi donated to me (thanks!). It will be a step down from the only good thing on my current pc, a x800xt-pe wich I happend to get not to long ago but I assume it will still be fast enough. Anyway I havnt been keeping track on hardware at all so I have no idea what I should get.

Im thinking about a core2 e6600 and overclock that to 3Ghz (my friend says that shouldnt be a problem at all), get 2gb corsair 5400 memory (only 70 euro's, never knew memory was that cheap) and get some kind of mobo. Ill just use my old psu, case etc so I dont need those.

The absolute maximum I want to spend is 500 euro's. What would be the best to buy for that kind of money (only need cpu, mobo, ram)?

Legend

being dutch im also greedy so I want to spend as little money as possible

Click to expand...

strange ive found the dutch to be amongst the most generous people ive met

little story we were in a pub at about 110 o'clock the barman asks if anyones hungry asked everyone what they wanted then went to the take away and bought everyone a munch - that wouldnt happen in many countries

anyway if your overclcocking the core 2 wont you need faster memory than 5400 ?
since overclock = bus speed + multiplyer you cant alter the multi and if you change the fsb you'll be over clocking the mem what happens if it the mem wont overclcock ?

Veteran

Haha well usually when people over here buy something, like a tv or pc or whatever you often hear people complaining about how expensive everything is but thats just Dutch, we like to complain too Well, maybe its not true compared to other countries but atleast we always joke about it that dutch are greedy and like to complain. Its just as we call all people from Belgium stupid, its just a cultural thing I guess.

Anyway, my mate has his e6600 @ 3Ghz and he said he bought 5400 memory because at 3Ghz that would make the memory run at exactly the right speed. And you dont have to be afraid of the x800 becoming lonely, it will be passed down the house to my brothers, remember, we are greedy, my parents dont buy new pc's, they just wait for me to give them my old one

Veteran

it's a pretty great time to upgrade. RAM is dirt cheap and CPUs are very reasonable. The hardest part is getting a decent price on mobo that overclocks reliably, but it's not too bad. GPUs are a mess tho!

Legend

Intel Core 2 Duo Price Drop In September - According to Intel partners, price reduction for Core 2 Duo processors is planned in September. Its value will be from 24% to 32%. Partners also confirmed that Core 2 Quad price will be lowered on 22 July (Core 2 Quad Q6600 - 2.4 GHz- will descend to $266)

LegendVeteran

you could do a two-step upgrade, first an E4300, mobo and two gigs that'll be followed later by a Q6600 (twice as fast as an E6600 for your task, as 3D rendering speed scales perfectly with the number of cores)

Veteran

But wouldnt it be better to wait 1 or 2 months for the pricedrop on the quadcore cpu's? I dont really want to buy 2 cpu's as that will always cost me more than just buy 1 and its not like I cant wait 1 or 2 months, for the time being I can just have my friend render my stuff if its needed.

About Us

Beyond3D has been around for over a decade and prides itself on being the best place on the web for in-depth, technically-driven discussion and analysis of 3D graphics hardware. If you love pixels and transistors, you've come to the right place!